November 1, 2001Dr. Brent Wilson, Program Chair
Information and Learning Technologies, School of Education
University of Colorado, Denver
Dear Dr. Wilson:
I am proud and excited to submit my ILT online portfolio for your approval. It contains artifacts that best represent my achievements towards meeting the professional responsibilities necessary of a Master's Degree candidate in the Information and Learning Technologies program at the University of Colorado, Denver. The past two years have been challenging and enjoyable. The ILT program has positively impacted my professional life and I feel a great sense of accomplishment.
When I began the ILT program my goals were to increase my role as a leader with regard to technology in an educational setting, increase my fluency with a variety of software packages, and learn techniques to better integrate technology into my work with students. I feel that I have made progress on all three of these fronts through experiences at UCD.
Activities solidifying my leadership skills were: presenting at the Technology in Education (TIE) Conference in Snowmass, Colorado in 2000 and 2001; an action research project into the use of technology by art teachers throughout my school district; and development and maintenance of my school's Web site. At TIE I conducted digital imaging workshops designed for educators interested in Web authoring and design. During the 2000 conference, I stepped in as a "substitute" teacher for an Adobe Photoshop workshop when the scheduled presenter did not show up. I enjoyed that opportunity to share my expertise and fill a need. Participants at each of the workshops indicated satisfaction with their experience. I enjoy working with adult learners, and look forward to continued involvement at TIE in years to come. During the spring of 2001 I conducted a comprehensive research project into the use of technology by art teachers in Adams 12 School District. I discovered that most of my colleagues have an interest in integrating technology, but lack support, access, or training. The results of the survey have better enabled me to advocate for technology in the arts, and indicated opportunities to train interested teachers. In fact, I will conduct a PowerPoint workshop for art teachers in February 2002. In the fall of 2000 I began re-development of the Vantage Point Campus Web site and I continue to manage that project. I worked with a small group of colleagues on the plan for the site, and coached these colleagues in the use of Macromedia Dreamweaver. I built the entire site and created an online gallery of my student's work; the gallery is my favorite part of being the Web developer. Overall, I have become a recognized leader at my school, in the areas of technology as well as school-wide decision making.
I came to this program with a relatively high degree of experience in a variety of software packages, and a desire to learn more. Since the first semester I have become proficient in Microsoft PowerPoint. Previously, I had not worked with the program, and I have enjoyed learning and using it. In particular, "Call & Response," a project produced during the summer 2000 is an artifact I am quite proud of. I created this PowerPoint presentation as an introduction to terms and concepts of the visual arts, and as a springboard for verbal and written classroom activities with regard to specific art works and visual concepts. I have successfully used this product in the classroom; the students enjoyed encountering the content through a multimedia context. I had prior experience in Web authoring and Macromedia Dreamweaver, and have continued developing my skills through the maintenance of my school's Web site for the past year. Lastly, I have been introduced to Macromedia Flash through the ILT program. Although I have not seriously pursued working with it, I feel I have a basic understanding that is solid, and will eventually make the time to develop animations and more with Flash.
I have taught digital imaging to students since 1996, and entered this program feeling confident that I appropriately integrate technology into my visual arts curriculum. However, I acknowledged room to grow, and feel that the WebQuest and PowerPoint activities demonstrate areas outside of a digital arts class where I have successfully introduced technology. The PowerPoint presentation "Call & Response" is a product that I used in an English class I taught last year. This product can easily be integrated into any art class, as it deals with visual arts terms and concepts; it is not media specific. My WebQuest, The Search for Absurdity, is a challenging though enjoyable activity that I haveyet used with students at my school. There are time constraints that have kept me from integrating the activity into my classes, but I feel that it is a solid piece of work that I will use one day. I believe it would be most successful with college age students, and I often consider teaching at that level, though I have no idea when I might make that transition.
In closing I want to thank you and the ILT faculty at U.C.D. for this valuable learning experience. I ask that you accept this online portfolio as evidence of completing the requirements necessary for a Master of Arts in Education, Information and Learning Technologies.
Sincerely,
Stacey Bernstein
Master's Degree Candidate
